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One in three of us will get cancer and it’s the toughest thing most of us will ever face. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, or a loved one has, you’ll want a team of people in your corner supporting you every step of the way. Macmillan provide practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care.

Youthhealthtalk enables young people, their family and friends, and professionals such as doctors and teachers to understand young people's experiences of health, illness and life in general. The website feature real-life accounts of issues such as effect on work and education, social life and relationships, consulting health professionals and treatment.

To make an appointment or to speak to our Practice Nurse on the following days and times, please ring 01704 396020/396021

Monday & Friday: 9.00-5.30

To make an appointment with our Healthcare Assistant on the following days and times, please ring 01704 396020/396021

Tuesday (9.00-17.20) & Wednesday (14:30-17:10)

TREATMENT ROOM NURSE

Available Monday — Friday between 9.30-12.30 via 01695 588440

Minor injuries

Removal of stitches

Ear syringing (please check with the doctor first)

Dressings

CONTRACEPTION SERVICES

We provide Depo-Provera contraception injections and also issue prescriptions for the contraceptive pill, monitor blood pressures, weight checks and monitor general well-being of the patients.

Special Services

Please telephone 01704 396020/396021

Minor Surgery

Contraception

Immunisations + Travel Clinic

Maternity

New Patient Checks

Epilepsy Reviews

Well Person Clinics

Routine BP Checks

Anticoagulant Clinic

Patients between the age of 16-74 who have not attended for a consultation in the last 12 months can request a consultation by the Practice Nurse.

If you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with the practice nurse to discuss your travel arrangements and also fill out a Travel form. This will include which countries and areas within countries that you are visiting to determine what vaccinations are required.

There is further information about countries and vaccinations required on the links below

It is important to make this initial appointment as early as possible - at least 6 weeks before you travel - as a second appointment will be required with the practice nurse to actually receive the vaccinations. These vaccines have to be ordered as they are not a stock vaccine. Your second appointment needs to be at least 2 weeks before you travel to allow the vaccines to work.

Some travel vaccines are ordered on a private prescription and these incur a charge over and above the normal prescription charge. This is because not all travel vaccinations are included in the services provided by the NHS.

Travel Health Questionnaire

To help us offer the appropriate advice, please fill out the online form before coming to see the nurse.

Flu Information

Seasonal flu is a highly infectious respiratory illness caused by a flu virus. It spreads rapidly through the coughs and sneezes of infected people.

Seasonal flu immunisation, or the flu jab, is the injection of a vaccine against flu. It gives good protection from flu that lasts for one year.

The flu jab is offered to people in at risk groups, who are at greater risk of developing serious complications from flu. To stay protected, they need to have it every year.

The vaccine, which is normally available in the autumn, is made from the strains of flu that are expected in winter.

How the vaccine protects you

About a week to 10 days after you have had the flu injection, your body starts making antibodies to the virus in the vaccine.

Antibodies are proteins that recognise and fight off germs that have invaded your blood, such as viruses. They help protect you against any similar viruses you then come into contact with.

The flu virus changes every year, so you need to have a flu jab annually to make sure that you are protected against the latest strain of the virus.

How effective is it?

The flu vaccines currently available give 70-80% protection against infection, with flu virus strains closely matching those in the vaccine.

In the elderly, protection against infection may be less, but immunisation reduces the chances of pneumonia, hospital admissions and death from seasonal flu.

For most people, seasonal flu is unpleasant but not serious and they recover within a week.

However, certain people are at greater risk of developing serious complications of flu, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. These may require hospital treatment. A large number of elderly people die from flu every winter.

The seasonal flu vaccine is offered free of charge to these at-risk groups to protect them from catching flu and developing these complications.

At Risk Groups

It is recommended you have a flu jab if you:

are 65 or over

have a serious medical condition such as chronic chest problems, chronic heart, liver or kidney disease

are immuno-suppressed

are diabetic

are pregnant

live in a residential or nursing home

are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill

are a healthcare or social care professional directly involved in patient care, or

work with poultry (see below)

If you are the parent of a child (over six months) with a long-term condition, speak to your GP about the flu jab. Your child's condition may get worse if they catch flu.

If you are the carer of an elderly or disabled person, make sure they have had their flu jab.

Poultry workers

You are entitled to a free flu vaccination if you work in close contact with poultry. This includes people who:

work in areas where poultry are kept for rearing or egg production,

handle or catch live poultry,

sort eggs in poultry houses, or

slaughter or clean poultry.

Free flu vaccination is offered to poultry workers because they are at slightly greater risk of catching bird flu if there is an outbreak.

If the bird flu and human flu viruses were to mix, a new flu virus could be made. A flu vaccination protects against human flu, reducing the risk of the viruses mixing even if a person had both human flu and bird flu at the same time.

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